Railway-tie



' (No Model.)

lE. ROBINSON. RAILWAY TIE.

No. 447,356'. Patented Mar. 3, 1891.

WITNESSE-S iarras STATES PATENT' Erica EUGENE ROBINSON, oir DETRoiT, MioHIeAN.

RAlvLwAY-Tl'E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,356, dated March 3, 1891. Application filed .Tune 20, 1890. Serial No. 356,059. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it .known that I, EUGENE ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railway-Ties; and I declare the following` to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention is designed to produce a me# tallic railway-tie which shall be of such construction that it can be cheaply manufactured and will be eective in use and very durable; and it consists of a combination of devices and appliances hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure I is a side elevation of a portion of the tie. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one end with the rail attached. Fig. 3 is,

a plan view of the tie itself with the rails and fastening devices removed. Fig. 4. shows the rail-fastener bolt.

In carrying out the invention, Arepresents the tie proper, and B the rail. As will be ob- -served, the tiehas a. peculiar shape, being wide or fan-shaped at the portions a, and the edges converging toward the center where the metal is twisted, as shown in Figs. l and 1 3 at a. At the part a the metal is bent to form an upright portion a2, and again bent to form a horizontal portion a3. It is on the horizontal portion a3 that the rail B rests.

C is the clamp or fastener for holding the rail in position. Its shape is peculiar, as shown in Fig. 4, there being a lip or projectionc for engaging over the flange of the rail, while the main portion c projects horizontally underneath the rail. A bolt c2 is formed integral with this portion c.

D is the clamp for the opposite flange of the rail.

A bolt-orifice is provided in the upright portion a2 ofthe tie, through which the bolt c2 may pass, and a slot a4 is provided in the horizontal portion as of the tie. N ow by inserting the block O in the slot a4, so that-.the lip c will engage on the flange of the rail and extending the bolt c2 through the orifice in the upright portion a2 of the tie and through a bolt-orifice in the fastener D, the parts may be engaged together by the nut c3.

One or more washers E may be provided between the end of the block c' and the upright portion a2 of the tie, whereby the gage of the rails may be exactly regulated.

It will be observed that the twisted portion a centrally between the extremities of the tie is raised to a higher' elevation than the portions ct where the .latter join the upright portions CL2-that is, the twisted portion is brought up adjacent to the surface of the ballast, thus forming a hip or angle. By this construction any lateral or endwise motion of the tie is prevented, since a bearing is formed not only against the upright portion a2, but against the portion a, because of its being at an angle with the surface. By twisting the metal at the middle, as shown, the tendency of this middle portion to sink to a level with the ends is prevented, and the tie greatly strengthened by this twisting. So, also, the widened or fan-shaped ends present a broad surface and effectively bear the weight on the rails. It will also be observed that by the peculiar clamping of the rail to the tie'the rail can be held securely in place without liability of becoming loose.

It is of course obvious that, instead of twisting the metal at the middle of the tie, as shown, the same effect will be accomplished by upsetting the edges of the metal or making the middle portion extend at right angles to the main portion. Itis also obvious that,it` desired, I might form the fastener or clamp D integral with the tie-that is, provide a lug on the upright portion a3 of the tie, against which the inner dange of the rail might bear. This would, of course, be the equivalent of the clamp D, and I would be understood as covering it by my invention.

1. A metallic railway-tie bent into the upright portions a2 and arched centrally between such portions to form the middle a at a' higher level than the lower parts of such upright portions, substantially as described.

2. A metallic railway-tie bent to form the upright portions a2 and having the elevated, twisted, or upset portion a centrally between such upright portions, substantially as described.

IOO

3. A metallic railway-tie bent to form the upright portions a2 and outwardly-extending horizontal portions a3, and having centrally between such upright portions the elevated 5 twisted portion a,substantially as described.

4. In :L metallic railway-tie, the combination, with the upright portion a2 and horizontal portion 0,3, of a combined rail clamp and bolt C, formed as shown, whereby the 1o rail is firmly clamped to the tie, substantially as described.

5. The combination, With a metallic tie hav- EUGENE ROBINSON.

Vitnesses:

M. A. REEVE, XV. H. CHAMBERLrN. 

